Book holder



April 17, 1962 N. R. BRAHA 3,029,548

BOOK HOLDER Filed May 5, 1960 IN VEN TOR. IVE 5157M RA YMO/VD BRAHA A 7' TOR/VE Y United Sttes Patent 3,029,548 BOOK HOLDER Nessim Raymond Braha, 222 E. 56th St., New York, N.Y. Filed May 5, 1960. Ser. No. 27,049 1 Claim. (Cl. 45-85) This invention relates to an upright holder or stand for books, stenographers pads or shorthand books, displays and other like articles that are to be held in easel fashion.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a collapsible holder or stand for books and the like, that can easily be extended and made ready for providing a support on a desk or table for a book, such as a shorthand book for a typist when her notes are to be transcribed, and which when not in use, can as readily be collapsed and made compact for storage.

It is another object of the invention to provide a book holder for typists wherein the shorthand book can be held in a position inclined rather than in a horizontal position on the desk or table surface and can lie adjusted to any angle of inclination by her so that glare or reflection of light that ordinarily fatignes the eyes of the typist can be eliminated without the typist having to lean over the paper and whereby the'typist can always work in a comfortable position-and thereby increase her production.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a book holder or stand for books formed of two frames hinged together and collapsible upon one another and wherein the additional parts such as the easel and lower edge book support are hinged independently upon the frames and which as the book holder is collapsed can be hinged inwardly into the space between the frames and wherein the mere closing of the frames holds these parts against outward displacement from the frames and within the confines of the frames to permit the easy storing of the holder.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a holder for books and the like providing an easel connection between two frame parts of the holder wherein the frame parts have side edges so that not only may they enclose parts when the frame is collapsed but an adjustable easel hingedly connected to one of the parts is held against rearward sliding by its engagement with the other part and with the upstanding flange of the frame, whereby the parts when set up and inclined for use are self-supporting and positively locked against collapse, the under frame thus providing the stop for the easel leg.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a collapsible book stand or holder, having the above objects in mind, which is of simple construction, has a minimum number of parts, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to extend, adjust, or collapse, compact, practical, light in weight, durable, efficient and effective in use.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the book stand or holder embodying the features of the present invention with the stand set up and a shorthand book extended thereover,

FIG. 2 is a front plan view of the collapsed book holder looking upon the top frame withthe bottom book support hinged outwardly and with the upper end of the front frame broken away to show hinge connection of the easel part to the front frame,

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the collapsed holder with the bottom frame part broken away to show the hinge connection of the bottom book support with the lower end of the front frame,

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the collapsed book holder with the bottom book support hinged outwardly and as viewed on line 4-4 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the collapsed book holder with both the easel and the bottom book support hinged inwardly for storage, the view being taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the figures, 10 represents a bottom frame having a horizontal bottom portion 11 and an upstanding vertical side portion 12 running about the full bottom portion. These portions being joined to form an angle in section. The frame itself is of rectangular shape with closed ends 13 and 14 joined together by sides 15 and 16. The closed end 13 has upstanding piano hinge projections 17 through which a hinge'pin 18 extends for connecting a complementary similar shaped top frame 19 by its hinge end 20 and its depending piano hinge projections 21 to the hinge projections 17. This top frame 19 has an outer end 22 and sides 23 and 24. The top frame 19 has a top horizontal portion 25 and a vertical side portion 26 that is preferably of greater height than the vertical sideportion of the bottom frame 10 and abuts the vertical portion 12 when the parts are hinged together as best shown in FIG. 4

Hinged to'the closed end 22 of the top frame 19 by a hinge 27 as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 is an easel arm part 28 which has an extension 29 adjustably retained thereon by a screw bolt 30 and a thumb nut 31. The screw bolt 30 is carried by the extension 29 and is slidable through an elongated slot 32 in the easel arm part 28. The easel arm part 28 has opposing guideways 33 and 34 in which the side edges of the extension 29 slide.

When the top frame 19 is opened from the bottom frame 10 by hinging the same upwardly to stand as shown in FIG. 1, the easel parts are extended and held secure by the screw 30 and the thumb nut 31. The lower end of the extension 29 is rested at 35 upon the horizontal portion 11 of the bottom frame 10 and held against rearward displacement by the upwardly-extending vertical side portion 12 of the closed end 14 of the bottom frame 10. Thus, once the adjustment is made of the easel parts, there is no opportunity for the easel parts to slip rearwardly, since the bottom frame 10 is the support for the easel parts and the end of the easel need not have to rest upon a smooth desk or table surface and in this way the holder is self-contained.

On the hinge end 20 of the top frame 19 are hinge extensions 36 to which a bottom support 37, that will support a shorthand book S is hinged by its extensions 38 and a hinge pin 39. This bottom support 37 has a lip 40 so that a book S having its bottom edge resting on the bottom support 37 will be held against outward displacement therefrom. The bottom support 37 is hinged outwardly upon the frames being separated from one another and so as to rest against the horizontal portion 25 of the hinge end 20 of the top frame 19. It will be seen that upon the book S being so supported that a typist will have the pages in full view and at an angle which is comfortable to her and so that there will be little glare or reflection upon the book page surface.

When the holder is collapsed the easel parts 28 and 29 are hinged forwardly and disposed within the top frame 19 and is held against outward displacement from the frame by the lower end of the extension 29 being disposed between the horizontal portions 11 and 25 of the respective bottom and top frames 10 and 19. Thus, the easel will be confined within the frames and out of the way for storage purposes.

The bottom support 37 will be pivoted on the hinge pin 39 inwardly and into the end 20 of the top frame 19. The end extension 29 will thus be confined between the lip 40 of the bottom support 37 and the horizontal por- 3 tion 11 of the bottom frame end 13. The easel and bottom support parts thus when the frames are collapsed upon one another are stored and confined within the frame parts so-that the frame parts can be rested flat upon a horizontal surface. Small friction pads 41 are provided on the horizontal portion 11 of the bottom frame to provide a friction grip with the table surface so that the holder is not readily shifted thereover. A compact collapsible holder is accordingly had in which the easel and support parts are stored within the same.

It should now be apparent that there has been provided a simple book holder or stand formed of two frames hinged together and serving when opened to be self-supporting with adequate means provided for the support of the book at its bottom end and wherein the easel and the bottom book support parts are fully retractable into the frames upon the frames being collapsed upon one another.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be Within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A collapsible book holder comprising a bottom frame having horizontal and vertical portions for the ends and sides of the frame, a complementary top frame of similar construction having one of its ends hinged to a corresponding end of the bottom frame in order that the top frame may be hinged upwardly and forwardly from the bottom frame against which a book may be rested,

a bottom book support carried by the hinged end of the top frame, an extendable two-part support bar hinged to one of the frames at the'opposite end thereof by one part and engageable with the opposite end of the other frame by the other part and by which it is held against rearward displacement and the frames held separated from one another, and said bottom book support being hinged to the hinged end of the top frame to be hinged out of the top frame when the book holder is to be used and retractable into the frame when the book frames are collapsed, said support bar being pivotally connected to the top frame and hingeable forwardly so that its lower end will be confined, when the holder is collapsed, between the bottom hinge ends of the bottom frame and the retracted bottom support, said support bar parts being telescopically interconnected, and means to secure the two parts of the support bar in adjusted position, said bottom book support having an edge lip to hold a book against outward displacement therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 578,325 Fleming Mar. 9, 1897 1,203,659 Smith Nov. 7, 1916 1,390,938 Thompson Sept. 13, 1921 2,014,176 Henderson Sept. 10, 1935 2,155,699 Conners Apr. 25, 1939 2,583,097 Heimann Jan. 22, 1952 2,825,998 Ey Mar. 11, 1958 2,844,908 Moore July 29, 1958 

